


The Willow Maid

by Grace_The_Punk_Geek_Girl



Category: Original Work
Genre: ...i think, Angst and Romance, But it isn't so bad, F/F, Forest Nymph, Girls in Love, Inspired by Music, It's a prosperous ending(?, Regular Ending, Selfishness, Unwanted Male Character, is not happy, lesbian love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-21
Updated: 2017-12-21
Packaged: 2019-02-17 18:28:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13082766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Grace_The_Punk_Geek_Girl/pseuds/Grace_The_Punk_Geek_Girl
Summary: A young man walked through the forestThere he found the maidenWho lives in the willowBut before he cameA young girl had already found her





	The Willow Maid

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the song "The Willow Maid" from Erutan

One summer afternoon, Carleen went deep into the forest; she couldn't look where she was going due to the tears rolling down her reddened cheeks, like a waterfall. Almost every day the other kids in her village would make fun of her because, unlike the rest of them, she didn't have a dad. He'd died many years ago, so many that now his face was nothing but a blur in her memory.  
  
She ran a great distance and her tiny legs would have continued until she reached the next village, if it hadn’t been for the protruding roots of an ancient tree, which made her fall with her face down on the dirt. The little girl didn't even bother to get up, she only sobbed harder and decided to wait in there until her mother noticed her absence and found her.  
Then she felt something, or rather someone, stroking her messy brown hair. Startled, she raised her head and her big, swollen blue eyes looked in awe at the owner of delicate hands that sweetly brushed her locks away from her face.  
  
“It's alright, I won't hurt you.” The woman said, with a honeyed voice. Her concerned eyes were green like the grass and her hair fell down her shoulder as a fire cascade. “Let me help you.” Carefully, the woman placed her arm under the girl and helped her sit. With her fingers, pale as porcelain, she cleaned the wetness and filth from her face, while her eyes roamed through her body, looking for bruises. Luckily, there wasn't any other harm except for the dirt in her dress.  
  
“Are you a fairy?” Carleen asked. Her crying had stopped and an innocent, childish glint appeared in her eyes. The woman couldn't stop herself from chuckling and answered, while her fingers tried, once again, to undo the knots in her hair.  
  
“I am.”  
  
From that day on, Carleen went into the woods to play and spend her time with her only friend, a nymph named Brid. But her happiness was shattered one autumn night, when her mother announced they would depart to a new home at the next day. The giant yellow star was just rising pass the hills when the little brunette hurried to the willow where the fairy rested lazily.  
  
“Miss fairy!” hearing her call, the nymph jumped off the high branches of the tree with an almost feline agility and opened her mouth to ask for the reason of her early visit. But her words vanished from her tongue when the girl leapt on her, causing them to fell on the grass, wet because of the dew. “Oh miss fairy,” the girl raised her sight, resting her chin on the fairy's belly, “my mother said that we'll be leaving this evening, but I don't want to be alone again.” Her sapphire eyes filled with tears that she tried not to shed. “Can I stay here? Or can you come with us?”  
  
“I'm sorry,” a sad glint appeared in her emerald eyes “I cannot abandon the forest, and I don't think your mother would let you stay in here on your own.” The girl couldn't contain her sorrow any longer, so the nymph hugged her tightly, stroking her hair while she sang a sweet melody. The fairy lost track of the time and didn't let her go until she heard the mother at the distance. “I'm sure you'll make some friends,” she said before planting a soft kiss in her forehead, “and if the loneliness you feel becomes unbearable, remember I’ll always be here for you.”

.

.

.

Ten years passed before their paths crossed again.

The nymph had been napping in a branch, as usual, when a sound caught her attention; a soft, velvety voice whispering an old song about unreturned love. Puzzled by the presence of another person in her forest, she decided to look for the owner of such beautiful voice.

She found a young woman; her long dark hair was tied with a ribbon and the skirt of her dress lifted up to her tights, being used to collect what she guessed were medicinal herbs.

The Fairy remained hidden behind a tree, a sudden curiosity eating her from the inside. She was too young to be a healer and too bright to be a wife. It was then that the young woman changed the melody and started to sing some lyrics that the nymph knew perfectly well.

“ _See me now, a ray of light in the moondance._  
_See me now, I cannot leave this place_  
_See me now, a strain of song in the forest_  
_Don't ask me to follow where you lead”_

She went static when the pieces fitted and the memory of that little girl reappeared from the depths of her mind.

“Carleen?” she came out of her hiding place, startling the maid for a second. But after she examined the nymph from head to toe with her still big and shining sapphire eyes, her face lit up with a big smile.

“Miss fairy,” the mentioned felt a warmth in her chest when she heard the term of endearment, “it’s really you.” The maid got closer and her smile widened until some tiny lines formed beside her eyes. “I remembered you taller.” The nymph let out a chuckle at her comment. The maid stayed silent for a minute, biting her lower lip and with a sudden shyness she asked. “May I hug you?”

“You don’t have to ask for permission.” The fairy assured her, and soon the two were sitting in the ground, wrapped in the other’s arms.

The maiden told her all the things she had lived during those ten years; how her mother had gotten married again, how her new stepfather had forbidden her to do any activity that wasn’t meant for ladies and how that same stepfather had arranged her a marriage for his own benefit, which caused her to escape minutes before the ceremony started.

“I always felt there was something missing and, while I was running away, I remembered what you said to me the day I left. So I decided to come back, hoping that you’d still be here.” all of a sudden her smile disappeared and her expression became mortified. “You are still my friend, right?” the nymph placed a lock of loosen hair behind her ear.

“Always.”

Days went by and turned into weeks, weeks turned into months and during that time, just as when she was a child, Carleen spent every single one of her days in company of the nymph; they braided their hairs while chatting and laughing, played hide and seek or hummed in the shade of the willow.

One particular summer afternoon, while they swam at the lake, Carleen invited the fairy to a festival at the village. She, with her body sunk to the chin in the water, looked at her with a sadness the brunette had only witnessed once before.

“I can’t.” The maid got out of the lake, the drops sliding down her skin sparkled like diamonds in the sunlight and, as it had happened many times before, the nymph found herself thinking how much she resembled an angel.

“Why not? It would be only for one night and it’s not so far from the forest.” The fairy sighed gloomily and came out as well, laying on a rock and reaching her arm out to her. Understanding the gesture, the brunette rested her head on the nymph’s shoulder and her hands around her waist.

“My spirit is connected to the willow. That means I can’t leave, not even for a minute.” She closed her eyes to avoid the disappointment in the young’s face.” If I did… I don’t know what could happen.” She felt tears gathering in her eyes.

During all that time, she had refused to think deeply about the feeling that burned her chest every time the maiden delayed or when she watched her go down that path of stones that ended right at the edge of her domains, but it was impossible to deny the distance between their worlds.

She didn’t realize she was shaking until the maid held her so close to her body that she could feel the other’s pulse again her skin. The minutes passed until the brunette dared to speak. “If you can’t go, then let’s make our own festival.” They separated a few inches and smiled at each other.

After getting dressed they parted ways, the nymph went looking for some firewood and the maid back to her house to bring some food. When the night fell upon them, their stomachs were full and the two women stood up to dance at the sound of a nonexistent song. At first they were laughing and spinning while holding the other’s hands, then they were in the ground, the brunette supporting herself on her palms not to crush the fairy.

Small and fluffy dandelion seeds started flying around and tangled in the nymph’s crimson curls, causing the maiden to think, like she’d done several times before, about her incomparable beauty. Her smile died and instead her teeth embed in her lower lip. The nymph arched a brow, confused, and her eyes acquired such an intense gleam that the maiden had to fix her own somewhere else.

“Is it weird that I want to kiss you?” her words left her tongue before she could try and stop them. Her face reddened and her heart beat so hard she wondered if the other one could be capable of hear it too.

“Not if I want it too.” she wasn’t expecting that answer, but didn’t waste any time and pressed her lips against hers. It took her a couple of kisses to identify their taste: apples and cinnamon.

They became friends. Friends that loved each other in middle of the forest, with the trees and the birds as confidents of every kiss, touch and sound they devoted to the other. The brunette spent the nights sleeping the arms of her beloved fairy, but when autumn came the temperature started to drop and the warmth of the nymph wasn’t enough anymore. It was during one of those nights, while the maiden trembled and clung to her lover’s body that the nymph suggested they should stop meeting until spring returned.

“But I don’t want to leave you.” The brunette replied, planting open-mouth kisses in her collar bone. “Besides, you’ve been living here your whole life and haven’t frozen to death yet.”

“That’s because, when the trees lose their leaves, my body vanishes and my spirit takes refuge in the willow.” The fairy insisted until the maiden reluctantly accepted, and when the last umber leaf fell from the last tree, the nymph and the maiden said goodbye with a last kiss.

.

.

.

Spring came. The cold, white blanket melted giving way to little shoots that reached hungrily for the rays of sunlight. The nymph was eager to see her beloved once again, but instead of the girl with the ocean in her eyes, the first creature she saw after her long sleep was a young man with dark hair and honey eyes.

He carried a bow in his hand and a quiver full of arrows in his back. When she noticed the hunting tools, the normally smooth and delicate features of the fairy hardened.

“Who are you?” the nymph inquired warily. It took the young man almost a minute to formulate an answer.

“Collin.” Was the only words that came from his mouth, since he was mesmerized by the ethereal beauty of the fairy.

“Collin,” she repeated coldly, “I don’t know who told you, you could come and hunt in this forest, but if you really value your life you should go. Now.” The young hunter, realizing he was seen as a threat, removed his bow and bent his head, ashamed.

“Forgive me, miss. I’m new around here and I thought there wouldn’t be any problem. I swear I will never try to hunt in this place.” The expression in the fairy’s face softened and her lips curved in a small smile.

“Alright, I’ll trust your word.”

The hunter raised his sight and, taking advantage of such opportunity, he asked:

“Miss, would you come with for a walk by the village.” She was a little surprised by his offer, though she didn’t think twice before shaking her head. So the hunter asked. “If you don’t mind, then, can I come here for a walk from time to time?” the nymph hesitated, but ultimately she nodded.In the end, the forest was vast and she believed that whomever wanted some peace had the right to enter it. The young man left, and a couple hours after Carleen arrived.

The first weeks of spring, the maiden refused to get away from her lover’s arms. She slept on top of her, bathed in the lake and fed from the fruits the plants kindly provided them. One morning, in which their bodies were so entwined that no one would know where one begins and the other ends, the sound of someone approaching forced them to separate. Panting and blushing they hid behind the willow, hastily putting on their clothes. The nymph had just finished putting on her dress, when she heard a manly voice.

“Miss? Are you here?” the maiden, knowing immediately whom the voice was referring to, looked at the fairy questioningly, but she put a finger over her lips, as a sign for her to stay quiet, and came out.

“Collin.” The man wore a suit from the same shade of green as the nymph’s eyes. He smiled widely when he saw her and extended his hand, in which he held a yellow blooming rose, which caused curiosity in the fairy. “What have you brought that flower for?”

“It’s a gift,” the hunter knelt and took her hand “I’ve fallen in love with you at first sight and I would like you to be my wife.” The nymph blinked, incredulous, and backed away a few steps.

“No.” She said sharply, but the man insisted with promises of a happy life together so the fairy felt obliged to give him a concise response. “I cannot marry you. My duty is to protect and take care of this woods.” She placed her hand on the trunk of the tree “I belong in here.”

Feeling rejected and hurt, the hunter retired back to his house. The nymph was watching the path the hunter had taken when she felt two arms enclosing her waist and lips leaving a trail of kisses, soft like butterfly wings, around her shoulders.

“If I ask you to be my wife, would you also reject me?” she sighed and turned around, taking the maiden’s face between her hands.

“What are you doing?” the brunette frowned, confused and worried when she noticed how wet her fairy’s eyes where, “I can’t go travel through the world with you, can’t age and end my life at your side and I think it’s pretty obvious I can’t give you a family to raise. If I don’t have anything to offer you, then why do you love me?”

The proposal from the hunter had been like pin, bursting the bubble of happiness they have been isolating themselves since the first brush between their bodies and the imminent truth of their situation plunged over her.

The maid placed her hands over the fairy’s and rested her forehead against hers. Her sapphire orbs reflected such affection the nymph felt a knot forming in her throat.  
  
“The only thing a want is you. If you can’t leave,” the maid planted a kiss on the tip of her nose “then I’ll build a cabin right here. Is still soon to think about a family,” then on her cheek “we’ll worry about that when the time comes.” She left a last kiss on her chin and pulled away just enough to see into her eyes. “I don’t care if you live a thousand years more than I do, I’ll remain here until I am nothing but dust. I know that, if we stay together, the day I die you’ll feel pain, but when the wound heals you will smile every time you remember me.” The maiden held her tightly. “Maybe it’s a selfish thought, but is what I feel.” Then she closed her eyes, focusing in her sweet essence to raspberries instead of the fear that settled in her chest at the words she’ll say next. “I’m selfish, that’s why I will only ask you once, do you want me to go?”

“No.” She didn’t even think it, didn’t need to.

At the end of the first month, next to the willow, they had built a little oak cabin. The only things inside it were a bed, a stone oven and a bathtub. Her clothing remained carefully folded in a chest, since she didn’t need to use them unless she went out the forest.

One evening, when the sun was nearing the horizon, the maiden went to the village, determined to buy ingredients to cook a delicious apple pie for her beloved. The nymph tried to take a little nap on her bed, but when she was at the edge of unconsciousness, a shout outside of the cabin caused her to get up. The fairy came out and there, right in front of the willow, was the hunter with an enraged expression and an axe in his hands.

“You said you couldn’t love me because you belonged to the forest.” He was gripping the handle so tight his knuckles turned white. “You lied to me!”

“I didn’t.” The fairy looked at him with fear. If the tree fell, she would too.

“Liar! You belong to that woman, but I will free you.” Encouraged by his jealousy, the man raised his axe and started to chop at the base of the trunk, before the nymph could do anything to stop him.

The fairy wept in pain, begging for mercy, but the hunter didn’t stop until the willow fell with a thunderous thump. The nymph watched the life slip away from the wood and a wave of weakness overwhelmed her, making her unable to fight against the man when he took her by the arm and dragged her out the forest. But before her feet could touch the stone path, the fairy fell to her knees.

“Get up.” The hunter knelt to pick her up, but he was stopped by a rock hitting his nape.

“Get away from her!” the maid left the basket where she carried the groceries and threw rocks at the hunter until he ran back to the village, “Brid, my beloved.” The maid knelt at her side and took her in her arms. “What has he done to you?”

“H-He…” the fairy’s voice was faint, she could feel her spirit extinguishing, “He cut my tree.” The brunette felt something breaking in her chest.

“Y-You’ll be fine,” she tried to convince herself, “I just have to take you back and I’m sure the tree will…” the rest of her sentence was nothing but an incomprehensible mumble against the nymph’s shoulder.

“Just promise me you will take care of the forest.” The fairy accepted her end. The young woman clung to her the same way she had done it back when she was a little girl. Suddenly, the nymph’s body vanished and, from the dirt, a rose emerged; the same color of that mane where her fingers had tangled so many times.

At dawn, the entrance of the forest was surrounded by warning signs. Carleen wouldn’t let any other human disturb nature ever again.

.

.

.

It was the first days of winter, and what used to look like a green sea of leaves fluttering in the wind was now a frozen dessert of blinding white. The little shoot that sprouted from the fairy had grown into a big rosebush, full of buds that tried to hide from the cold. The maiden made sure to keep it watered and healthy every day; but one morning, during one of her trips to remove the snowflakes that insisted on sticking in its petals, she found a figure curled up besides the rosebush. A woman with porcelain skin and hair as fire.

“Brid?” for a second, her heart stopped. She knelt beside her, but when the girl raised her face her hopes were crushed once again.

“W-Who are you?” the other woman asked, shaking. Her scared eyes were the color of nutmeg and her adorable face was decorated with freckles. “H-How do you know my name?” Carleen frowned confused, then a knot formed in her throat.

“Are you a fairy?” she nodded and the maiden understood. She took off her coat, placed it around the young nymph’s shoulders and helped her stand. “My name is Carleen, and I am your protector.” She took the younger one to her cabin where she gave her clothes and food, and after a few days, any doubt she could have had disappeared.

Her appearance was different, but she was still her fairy.


End file.
